Travel Health Service Year 2016

Current Travel Health News

Take precautions against dengue fever when travelling abroad

Dengue fever is now endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. This includes various popular tourist destinations for Hong Kong people including the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Travellers planning to travel in these areas should take precautions against the disease.

Cumulative reported number of dengue cases since 01/01/2016 *

	Cumulative reported no. of cases since 01/01/2016	Source of information and date of report
Australia	286	World Health Organization, 8 March 2016
Brazil	224,064	World Health Organization, 11 March 2016
Cambodia	562	World Health Organization, 8 March 2016
Guangdong	22	Health Department of Guangdong Province, 15 March 2016
India	2,085	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 29 February 2016
Japan	53^#	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 22 March 2016
Lao PDR	178	World Health Organization, 8 March 2016
Mexico	14,617	World Health Organization, 11 March 2016
Philippines	18,790	World Health Organization, 8 March 2016
Singapore	5,831^{^}	Singapore National Environment Agency, 23 March 2016
Sri Lanka	12,361	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 23 March 2016
Taiwan	371	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 23 March 2016
Thailand	12,383	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 22 March 2016
Vietnam	13,086	World Health Organization, 8 March 2016

Remark:
* Dengue reporting systems vary by country.
^ Cumulative cases since 3 January 2016
# Cumulative cases since 4 January 2016.

Travellers should stay vigilant against dengue fever and adopt the following personal preventive measures against mosquito bite:

*	Always wear loose, light-coloured long-sleeved tops and trousers;
*	Stay in air-conditioned residence or places with mosquito screens;
*	If mosquito screen or air-conditioning is absent, aerosol insecticide and bed nets are advised;
*	Use insect repellents containing DEET on exposed skin and clothing;
*	Use insect repellents containing DEET apart from applying sunscreen while staying in beaches;
*	Re-apply insect repellents according to instructions during the trip;
*	Carry a portable bed nets and apply permethrin on it as well as to clothes if travelling to rural areas where dengue fever is prevalent.

Travellers returning from areas where dengue fever is prevalent should seek medical advice as soon as possible if they feel unwell and provide travel details to their doctors.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (March 24) closely monitoring a total of four additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on March 15 and 16, including one fatal case. The CHP again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of health risks in the places they visit.

According to the WHO, the patients are three men and a woman aged between 45 and 84. Among them, one had a history of frequent consumption of raw camel milk while another was linked to a MERS outbreak in a local hospital. The source of infection of the remaining two patients is under investigation. One of the male patients, aged 84, passed away on March 14.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 24 March 2016)

Angola: Yellow Fever

The Department of Health today (March 23) drew the public's attention to the ongoing outbreak of yellow fever in Angola and appealed to travellers for vigilance and early vaccination before departure.

According to the World Health Organization, yellow fever cases were first recorded in the capital of Angola, Luanda, last December. The majority of cases were reported in Luanda. As of March 21, a total of 1 132 suspected and confirmed cases and 168 deaths had been reported in Angola.

As the outbreak in Angola emerges, the risk of importation to other countries is increasing. The National Health and Family Planning Commission notified the first imported case of yellow fever in the Mainland on March 13. To date, five cases have been reported. All patients had travelled to Angola before onset and some had yet to be vaccinated against yellow fever before their trip.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 23 March 2016)

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (March 22) closely monitoring a total of four additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on March 13 and 14. The CHP again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of health risks in the places they visit.

According to the WHO, the patients are four men aged 33 to 60. Among them, a 45-year-old man had a history of frequent camel contact and consumption of raw camel milk, a 47-year-old man had contact with a previously confirmed case and a 33-year-old man was linked to a MERS outbreak in a local hospital. The source of infection of the remaining patient, aged 60, is under investigation.

(Source: Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health 22 March 2016)